A little while ago I had one of the saddest phone calls I have ever recieved.

I was in the feed store and there was kind of a rush for some reason so a lot of people were standing around visiting. My phone rang with a number I didn't recognize and for some strange reason I went ahead and answered. Not a normal thing for me to do inside a business like that.

It was a young man calling from our front gate (where I have my number posted) he said he was calling about someone who might have been left behind. A strange turn of phrase. He was obviously feeling awkward and finally asked almost as if he were inquiring about a lost dog, had anybody on the ranch seen a dead body.

It seems his cousin hasn't been heard from in over 2 months. He has been driving around the county trying to find the trail that the cousin was walking. The mother is panicking and wants to come across to search but where is she going to start, what can she do? He said he had called the Willcox Border Patrol but they said there hasn't been a body in this sector in over 8 months. I am so sad for this family. Can you imagine?

There are so many idiots running around on dune buggies and 4 wheelers, plus the local ranchers and other horseback travelers, constant low flying aircraft (more BP) - not to mention the other migrants passing through I would think somebody would have found any bodies by now from 2 months ago, but then some of the country is brushy and rough and the cycle of nature returns organic matter pretty quickly to the earth.

On the other hand a cell phone and a few minutes of Mexico calling is so cheap these days, if he was Ok they surely would have heard from him.

Can you imagine being the mother of this young man who tried to walk 100 miles to find work? I need to go hug my sons.